Artistic Tolkien fans united on twitter this year for #Tolkientober to share new illustrations and representations of Middle-earth. Both fun and personal, the charge was led by Molly Ostertag who here pulls a small sample of the 1000’s of outstanding drawings.
EDITORS NOTE: Guest author Molly Knox Ostertag was invited to showcase the great artistic work done by fans worldwide for #Tolkientober. She is one of 2020’s Forbes 30 Under 30 media professionals, a NYTimes best-selling author and a leading illustrator for Disney animation.
A common theme of 2020 (besides mounting existential dread and the strange feeling that it’s lasted several centuries) has been people finding comfort in a return to their teenage passions. This is my sole excuse for why I have become as obsessed with Lord of the Rings this year as I was when I was 12 and would literally lie on the floor with giant speakers on either side of my head, playing the Return of the King soundtrack and crying about the Grey Havens.
I’ve been having fun drawing and writing and indulging this obsession, but there’s a limit to how much hobbit fanart a bored lesbian in lockdown can produce. Craving more content in much the same way Thorin & Co crave their ancestral treasure, I started a drawing challenge for October called #Tolkientober (I couldn’t think of a better name; please let me know if you come up with one). Each day had a theme, sometimes obvious things like ‘a dwarf’ and sometimes more interpretative, like ‘a guardian’. With weekends off, of course – no one better than Tolkien understood the importance of having periods of rest and healing in between efforts.
National Geographic reports scientists have discovered a new family of eel-like fish, named dragon snakeheads, living in subterranean waters in India. As you will see, there is already one member of the species named after a Tolkien character. We suggest the name ‘Smaug’ for this new worm-like dragon.
Apple News – National Geographic
This family includes only two species, one of which is named the Gollum snakehead, after the subterranean __Lord of the Rings character.
These strange, long-bodied fish, which dwell in aquifers of porous rock, are rarely seen, only coming to the surface after flooding from heavy rains. Britz says the family’s common name is fitting because “everyone who sees a photo of the fish is somehow reminded of a dragon.”
J.R.R. Tolkien (Photo by Haywood Magee/Picture Post/Getty Images)
Here are 3 questions to be answered in 3 minutes or less as part of The Tolkien Fandom Oral History Project; an inspired quest spearheaded by William Fliss, Archivist in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives of the Raynor Memorial Library at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
There is a new hotel in Spain that allows visitors to stay in hobbit holes, just like in the Shire! These hobbit houses can hold up to 6 people, are semi-buried and ecological. You can read more about it here. From the article:
Mi Tresoro, or My Treasure, has three semi-buried, grass-roofed apartments with space for six people each. They are bioclimatic, ecological and integrate perfectly into the natural environment. To complete the full Lord of the Rings experience, visitors can look forward to guided visits to fishing districts, ports, fish markets, brotherhoods and museums in the area. On the lake, customers may also opt for some recreational fishing, paddle surfing, kayaking and much more. Not a bad holiday, all in all—and certainly an easier ride than the poor Bagginses. There are no nasty Orcs or Dark Lords to fear here.
While this new hotel may not be as extensive as Hobbiton in Matamata, New Zealand, the hobbit holes in Spain allow you to not only go inside but spend the night. Time to add another stop to the Tolkien tourism list for after the pandemic!
Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
“I thought up an ending for my book: ‘And he lived happily ever after, unto the end of his days.'”
Farewell to Sir Ian Holm, our dear and beloved Bilbo Baggins. May you thrive in the far green country and be at peace. Thank you for sharing your marvelous gifts with us and for bringing to life a character so dear to thousands, if not millions, of hearts. At 88 years old, you were a long-lived hobbit indeed.
Born on September 12, 1931, Holm was an accomplished actor for both stage and screen. Among his accolades are a Tony Award in 1967 for Homecoming and he was nominated for an Academy Award for Chariots of Fire. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1953. He was considered a star of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
As a voice actor, he played Frodo in the BBC’s 1981 adaptation of the Lord of the Rings and returned to Middle-earth to play Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Together with the rest of the cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, he shared a SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Holm reprised his role of “old” Bilbo in Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy.
He is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren. Our hearts go out to his family and friends for their loss while we also celebrate the life of and work of a very gifted actor.
May the below score by Howard Shore warm your heart as we remember our dear Mr. Baggins.
What happens when Fili asks Kili for help carving her jack-o’-lantern? Find out in our new Halloween Special! 
